The construction industry added 11,000 jobs in January, despite challenges posed by severe weather conditions that caused delays in multiple regions, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America.
Despite bouts of exceptionally cold or stormy weather affecting projects across the nation, the construction sector demonstrated resilience, reflecting the industry’s response to sustained demand. Officials with the Associated General Contractors of America said that companies are ramping up efforts to attract more workers by boosting wages.
“Although job gains were modest last month, other evidence suggests there is still lots of demand for workers,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Wages rose faster than in other sectors, job openings at the end of 2023 were at near-record levels for December and construction spending jumped that month.”
In January, construction employment reached a seasonally adjusted total of more than 8.137 million workers. That represented an increase of 11,000 jobs, a gain of 0.1% from December’s total.
During the past 12 months, the construction sector added a total of 216,000 jobs, a gain of 2.7% when compared to the previous 12 months.
The residential building and specialty trade contractors category contributed 2,700 employees in January and saw an increase of 60,100 — or 1.8% — over the past year.
Employment at nonresidential construction firms, including nonresidential building and specialty trade contractors along with heavy and civil engineering construction firms, rose by 7,600 positions for the month and 155,100 — 3.3% — since January of 2023.
Average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees in construction, covering both onsite craft workers and many office workers, increased by 5.3% over the year to $35.21 an hour. Construction firms offered a wage “premium” of nearly 19% compared to the average hourly earnings for all private-sector production employees in December.
Recent government reports on job openings and construction spending underscore the robust demand for construction workers and projects. Simonson said that job openings in construction at the end of December totaled 374,000, significantly surpassing the 227,000 workers hired. This implies that contractors are eager to hire more workers than they are currently able to find.
Additionally, spending on projects underway in December totaled $2.1 trillion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, representing a 0.9% increase compared to November and a substantial 14% rise from the previous year.
Association officials expressed concern about the shortage of workers entering the construction sector despite its high wages. They identified the lack of construction education and training programs, especially at the high school level, as a key factor. Urging federal officials to increase funding for construction education and training programs, they also called for expanded opportunities for lawful entry into the country to meet the demand for construction workers.
“Considering most construction positions don’t require a college degree, construction careers offer an almost certain path to economic security,” said Stephen Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer. “Yet too few workers are ever exposed to the many career opportunities available to them in construction as policy makers continue to urge everyone to go to college instead.”
